Dan Houser Says He Is Avoiding GTA 6 to Prevent Rockstar’s Game From Influencing His Own Open-World Games

Former Rockstar Games writer and co-founder Dan Houser has revealed that he still has not watched the extended reveal for Grand Theft Auto 6. Houser said he is deliberately avoiding the highly anticipated sequel because he believes seeing Rockstar’s work could influence the open-world games he is currently developing at Absurd Ventures.

Houser discussed his decision in a new interview with Variety. The veteran writer spent years helping shape Rockstar’s biggest franchises, including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Bully, and Max Payne, before leaving the company in 2020.

Dan Houser Is Deliberately Avoiding GTA 6

Despite his history with the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Houser said he has made a conscious effort not to follow what Rockstar is doing with GTA 6. His reasoning is tied directly to his current work, as Absurd Ventures is developing its own open-world projects.

“I haven’t seen it yet. I will try and avoid it because I always try and avoid stuff that’s going to distract or disrupt me creatively,”

Houser told Variety.

He explained that because he spends much of his time developing open-world games and thinking about ways to present and market them, closely studying another major open-world title could unintentionally affect his creative decisions.

Houser added that he does not want to watch something and immediately start comparing it with what he would have done differently. Instead, he wants to approach his own projects without being influenced by the ideas and solutions used by other developers.

This approach is particularly notable given Houser’s connection to Grand Theft Auto. He worked as a writer and producer on several of Rockstar’s most influential games, including Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA 4, and GTA 5.

Why Houser Avoids Other Open-World Games

Houser’s avoidance extends beyond GTA 6. He explained that he generally does not play many open-world games because he naturally begins analyzing how they were made instead of simply experiencing them as a player.

“I find when I play them, I can almost deconstruct the strengths and weaknesses of the team in real time and it’s distracting,”

Houser said.

Rather than focusing purely on the experience, he finds himself thinking about individual development departments, design decisions, and even how certain features might have been discussed internally.

That mindset can make it difficult for him to consume another developer’s work without allowing it to affect his own creative thinking.

Houser previously followed a similar approach while working on Red Dead Redemption. He said that once development began, he avoided watching Western movies so they would not influence the game’s creative direction.

He also avoided watching The Sopranos while working at Rockstar, eventually watching the series during the COVID-19 pandemic after leaving the company.

Absurd Ventures Is Developing Two Open-World Games

Houser’s decision to avoid GTA 6 comes while Absurd Ventures is working on two open-world games. According to the Variety interview, one project is described as a comedy action-adventure, while the second is expected to have a considerably less comedic tone.

Houser said his creative philosophy is focused on finding ideas that have not been explored before or drawing inspiration from older forms of entertainment rather than simply examining what other modern game studios are doing.

That makes his decision to avoid GTA 6 understandable. Rather than comparing his upcoming projects with Rockstar’s next major open-world game, Houser appears determined to develop Absurd Ventures’ games independently and establish their own identities.